Utah town forgets to hold election  again

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In the Wasatch County town of Wallsburg, the city employee responsible for oversight of elections brought new meaning to the job description by overlooking the election altogether.

The new recorder in the town of about 275 just east of Deer Creek Reservoir forgot to announce the opening of the filing period or arrange to hold an election Nov. 5, when voters across the state cast their ballots in municipal elections.

By the time the oversight was caught shortly before Election Day, it was too late to field candidates and hold the balloting on the fly.

"Wallsburg never advertised or prepared for an election this year, so no one signed up," said Wasatch County Clerk Brent Titcomb. "They're going to have to appoint the current mayor and council for two more years and they'll advertise and have people elected [in 2015]."

It's actually not the first time Wallsburg forgot to hold an election.

Mark Thomas, director of the state elections office, said Wallsburg didn't schedule an election two years ago, either, and the council members had to be appointed then, as well. Those appointed seats should have been up for election in the November election, but were not, he said.